Fight To Seize Donbas Region: Civilians Follows directive From Govt In Kyiv To Leave Donetsk

Russian forces wrestled for control of villages in eastern Ukraine near the city of Bakhmut over the weekend, the latest flash point as Moscow tries to seize the whole of the eastern region of Donbas. The status of the village of Blahodatne is in dispute. Ukraine said yesterday that its soldiers had repelled attacks on it and on several other settlements in the area. But a day earlier, the Wagner private military company, fighting on Moscow’s behalf, claimed that it had captured the village. Russia’s defense ministry has not confirmed the report, the times learnt. Blahodatne lies between Soledar, a salt-mining town that Russian forces recently captured after weeks of intense fighting, and a road that runs north from the city of Bakhmut. The road serves as a crucial supply line for Ukrainian forces defending the city. Moscow aims to encircle Bakhmut, cut off its supply routes and then force the city’s defenders to withdraw. Casualties of war: Many civilians have followed a directive from the government in Kyiv to

Donetsk, which is in the Donbas region. Those who have stayed remain vulnerable to shelling and artillery attacks, with dozens killed in recent weeks.